Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
development timelines typically exceed ten years (Fisken and
Rutherford, 2002). Now, it has become the dominant commercial
model of the biotechnology industry, although long-term capacity for
growth with this model is debated (Fisken and Rutherford, 2002). It
has been suggested that for companies to grow then they would have
to have an evolving business model that started to incorporate direct
product development too (Fisken and Rutherford, 2002).
The list above, however, shows that supplying tools and reagents
to iPSC researchers is a popular approach to commercial development
in this area of biotechnology. The diversity in the size of the
companies in the examples listed also shows that there is currently
scope for both small start-up companies to enter the market supplying
materials for iPSC research and large, well-established biotechnology
supply companies to branch out into new product areas. The long-
term viability of all of these companies has not yet been tested, but
it might be envisioned that competition for market share will
inevitably lead to some companies failing in such an environment.
6.2.5 Collaborativelicensing
A core business strategy being adopted by some companies in the
iPSC field involves forming collaborative agreements with larger
companies with different skill sets (Prescott, 2011). StemGent have
agreements with several companies, iPS Academia Japan have
partnered with US-based iPierian and Fate Therapeutics have an
agreement with BD Biosciences (
http://www.bdbiosciences.com
).
Often referred to as a 'hybrid' business model, such collaborative
agreements allow small companies in specialist areas to leverage up
their access to market share and available managerial and sales
expertise while focusing on product development (Fisken and
Rutherford, 2002). A further suggestion is that not only do
companies need to have a good product and effective marketing and
sales capacity, they also need approval from sources outside the
company (Prescott, 2011).
iPS Academia Japan are somewhat unusual, however, in that they
actually claim to be a not-for-profit company. They have available
